Since the advent of small firearms, there have been a variety of apparatus that have been invented to increase the ease of carrying of weapons, as well as to provide protection to the weapon from the elements such as water, dirt, and other contaminants that could adversely affect the functioning or service life of such weapons. One common type of apparatus is collectively referred to as a holster. Holsters generally share a common theme in that they provide a compartment into which a weapon or other device or piece of equipment may be placed when the weapon is not in actual use. The compartment is frequently attached to a belt or some other kind of system that the user wears on some part of their body, whether it be around the waist, leg or torso. The primary advantage of this kind of arrangement is that it allows a user the freedom of use of their hands when the weapon is not in use, but easy access to the weapon or other item being carried when needed.
There are several prior art examples of holsters that serve to provide increased protection against the elements.
For example:                U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,860 (Serafini) discloses a holster container that includes a lid to hermetically seal a firearm.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,541 (Rasslas) discloses a holster having a hinged flap, where the weapon is substantially fully enclosed when placed in the holster.        U.S. Pat. No. 7,591,402 (Rasslas) discloses a holster with a hinged flap that drops away from the top of the holster to permit access to a firearm.        U.S. Patent Publication 2002-0011504 (Cerato) discloses a casing for pistols that surrounds most of a weapon leaving only the grip exposed to enable the user to remove the weapon from the casing.        U.S. Patent Publication 2007-0181619 (Seyfert et al.) discloses a holster in which the gun us secured into the holster by a hinged flap that engages the rear of the gun frame near the hammer when the gun is in the body of the holster.        
In some cases, holsters are designed to disguise the fact that a person is carrying a firearm. For example:                U.S. Pat. No. 8,622,269 (Hogue) discloses s holster arrangement that provides a façade the looks like a cell phone case or cover.        U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014-0027479 (Hogue) discloses another example of a holster that disguises the fact that a handgun is being carried by the user, making use of a hinged shroud to conceal the handgun.        
However, each of these prior art examples suffer from notable limitations. For example, all but one of the examples listed above fail to completely protect the firearm from at least some exposure to the elements while in the holster. Thus, dirt, water and other contaminants that are potentially harmful to the various mechanical parts of the gun can come into contact with critical functional components of the weapon. This can result in damage to the weapon that can adversely affect function both in the short term, and the longer term serviceability of the weapon. Similar issues can exit with pieces of equipment other than firearms that can be stored an carried in holsters.
In the one case of a holster that does provide protection from the elements, the sealing flap is designed in such a way that access to the weapon is inconvenient, and removal of the gun from the holster when needed by a user would be difficult at best (See FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,860).
Thus, what is needed is a holster apparatus that effectively secures a weapon or other piece of equipment within the holster, is designed to protect the contents of the holster from the elements, and which permits easy access to the contents of the holster.